Roasted Za’atar Sweet Potatoes with Couscous

On occasion, I get stuck on flavors/foods. For some time, it was chipotle, then I moved on to smoked paprika. Right now, I’m all about za’atar. It’s such a lovely addition to many meals and works extremely well with a myriad of vegetables. It’s easy to make with just three ingredients: sumac, thyme, and sesame seeds.

Variations the Za’atar Sweet Potatoes

Since I’m stuck on za’atar, it only seems right that I kick off fall recipes with sweet potatoes and this spice mixture. If you make up a batch of the za’atar, you can use it to make these tomatoes (which also go well in many different meals!)

Butternut Squash: In this recipe, I find that squash is interchangeable or sometimes I’ll do both together depending what I have hanging around.

Grains: I like couscous because it’s quick cooking, but you could use whatever your favorite grain is. I’ve been known to use quinoa and if I have more time, I’ll use sorghum.

Ways to serve: Or, if you don’t want to use grains these za’atar sweet potatoes are the perfect addition to salads or stuffed in an omelet.

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400˚.

Toss the sweet potatoes and shallots with 2 teaspoons. Roast for 25 minutes until tender and starting to brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle za’tar and remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil over the sweet potatoes, stir until everything is well combined, and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

While sweet potatoes are cooking, stir together the greek yogurt, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Serve sweet potatoes with a healthy scoop of couscous and lemon yogurt.

Hi Amanda, like I mentioned above- it’s a blend of thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. You can purchase it pre-made or you can make it (the link above to 101 cookbooks has the mix + has a bit more info about what za’atar is!) Hope that helps!

Amanda, za’atar is a middle-eastern spice mix, common in multiple countries, including Israel. It is delicious sprinkled on pita toasted with olive oil. There are multiple mixes, some better than others. The commercial mix I have also includes hyssop and oregano, but the combination of oregano and thyme is too strong. Try the mix that Erin suggests. You can buy the sumac online.

This dish sounds wonderful. As a non-vegetarian I would use it as a side dish. And I think I’ll make my own za’atar using the recipe you recommended. The mix I have includes oregano and the flavor balance is off.